The king of Oahu replied: “Yes; we will go to the place of death. If they win, we die; but if we win, there shall be no death. I do not know how to kill a man in this way.”
So they all went to the battlefield. As soon as all the chiefs and the people were assembled, Maui-nui, king of Maui, leaped up and began his boast, proposing the battle and stating the conditions, “Death for the defeated.” Kakuhihewa quietly answered: “If I win, I shall not kill you. You have already prepared for our death.”
The wife of the king of Maui favored the terms of the Oahuan ruler to be applied to both sides, but her husband again called out his condition, “Death to the defeated.”
Then Kakuhihewa stated his condition: “We will try one rooster, and then another. If both of my roosters are killed, we will rest until time has been given to get another bird for me.”
This was agreed to without any opposition. [[238]]The chickens were quickly freed. The roosters leaped against each other and one fell dead. Then the second battle was fought and the second rooster killed.
While they were resting, Kauilani went in behind that large kapa sheet which he had requested. The egg was wrapped in his cloak, which was thrown around his neck. He took out the egg and uttered an incantation:
“The chicken comes out better in the heat.
Both of us were born at midnight.
Dust rises and is blown like mist on a wave.
Pick the flowers of the ohia—pick the flowers.